Hatoful Nation
by Kuro Shiro Kami Chan
Summary: On the way home from school our heroine Hiyoko Tosaka comes across 3 birds who seem obsessed with the thought of being human. And if the mysterious Japanese human wasn't enough, there's also a conspiracy going on in the school with her in it's epicenter. Will Hiyoko live to see another sunrise? First Hetalia x Hatoful Boyfriend fic ever, please be kind, pairings up the wazoo.
1. Chapter 1

**Hatoful Boyfriend got released on Steam back in September last year so I got myself the deluxe edition and I've been trying to unlock Bad Boys Love ever since. I have unlocked it by some miracle and started playing it (I'm on chapter 5 at the time of my writing this). And the idea occurred to me: "well, this story takes place on Earth and St. Pigeonations is in Japan so why not drag my favorite nations' personifications into this?"**

**This is my first Hetalia x Hatoful Boyfriend crossover as well as my first HB fanfic ever so I do hope this goes well. Because this is my frist Hatoful Boyfriend fic you'll also have to forgive me if Hiyoko is a little OOC. I do love her character though, so even if she seems a little OOC it's because I admire her in a strange way. She's unlike other girls in other dating sims. Hiyoko doesn't sit down patiently all googly eyed waiting for love to find her! She's tough! She's smart! SHE'S A GOD DAMN CAVE WOMAN AND A HUNTER GATHERER! In addition there's no need to genderbend mentally if you're a dude playing****the game, so for those reasons and more I find Hiyoko absolutely awesome :D**

**This will contain spoilers for the Bad Boys Love route of Hatoful Boyfriend as well as a lot of the backstory on the game, so beware. I suggest you either play through the entire BBL route in the game or just look up the spoilers somewhere on the internet to know what's going to happen in this story. As for what's going to happen to our favorite nations, you might cry a little, but I assure you none of them are dead. I also take it that if you're reading this you've already played through Hatoful Boyfriend multiple times or you at least looked up everything on Wikipedia or TVtropes before reading this. You've been warned!**

**I ALSO HAD NO IDEA WHETHER TO CALL THIS STORY Hatotalia or Hatoful Nation but so the title is balanced I chose Hatoful Nation. So enjoy :)**

**Hatoful Nation**

_Today was a full day of school. There were a bunch of new and familiar faces. I hope I can make some new friends. I wasn't able to do much at school last year, so this year I'm going to enjoy my high school life as much as possible and do everything I can to make it fun!_

On the way home, Hiyoko spotted two golden eagles and one green pheasant outside of the glorious cave she called her abode. Birds don't usually live in caves, providing Hiyoko with a place to hide when the Avian Flu was still a big deal and killing off a majority of the humans on Earth. What was also strange about this encounter was the fact two golden eagles and a green pheasant all seemed to be hanging out together without eating each other or fighting. Definitely not something you saw everyday…

Wondering if they were also intelligent birds, she asked them straight up: "You guys new around here?"

She noticed that one of the golden eagles seemed to have an out of place hair on the left side of it's head, which made the encounter all the more strange as birds don't have hair… Regardless these birds didn't seem vicious or anything and she still needed to know if they were intelligent or not. Eagles ate rodents after all… what if one of these birds were to attack her?

"We're sorry. We weren't aware anyone lived here. Our friend here decided to take a siesta out of no where and we've been trying to wake him up."

This particular golden eagle had a German accent and pointed to the golden eagle with the out of place hair on it's head, who was leaning up against the cave walls with it's eyes closed. The green pheasant stood next to it, observing him silently.

_Sounds like Mr. Nanaki all over again._

"We apologize for the inconvience Miss… Ano…" The green pheasant spoke. Hiyoko could tell he was Japanese as green pheasants were the national birds of Japan, or so she had read in a book once. Now that birds pretty much ran the world, having a national bird seemed useless and almost racist… or maybe… species-ist? Specist?

She didn't bother thinking about complicated words.

"Doitsu-san, I think we should introduce ourselves to this human…" The pheasant said, looking at his golden eagle companion.

"Ja… I guess I'll start." The eagle walked up to Hiyoko, extending his wing as a human would to shake hands. "I am Germany."

Hiyoko shook his wing, surprised as to why this bird not only addressed himself using the name of a country, but also why he shook wings like humans shook hands with one another. No one else at school had ever shaken wings or hands with her. Of course being the only human at St. Pigeonations, it could've been a prejudice she didn't notice or because of the whole different species thing…

_I guess he must be an eagle from Germany… that or his name actually IS Germany… I've never been anywhere outside of Japan though, so I wouldn't know about foreign names or anything. First a snooty French fan-tail and now a bird named after a country… Oh well, he doesn't seem snotty like Sakuya at least._

"GAHHHHHHHHHHH!" The other golden eagle with the out of place hair on the left side of it's head woke up screaming. "Ve~ Germany, I had that nightmare again…"

"What nightmare?"

"The one where I'm a bird and I can't eat pasta!"

The four of them stood totally silent, the green pheasant pointing out that his eagle friend was indeed a bird…

The golden eagle with the strange hair immediately ran to the other golden eagle and hugged him as tight as a bird could hug another bird. "But I don't want to be a bird! I want to be a human so I can eat all of my favorite foods again!"

"Be… A human?" Hiyoko asked, never once meeting an intelligent bird who said he wanted to be human.

She caught this eagle's attention, it flying to her and perching on her shoulder. "Si, I want to be a human. As a bird I can't do anything except fly around and eat things like rats and other rodents. If I were a human, I could eat anything I wanted~ Especially pasta!"

"Italia-kun, why must you be so forward?" The pheasant scolded his friend, looking away from him as he snuggled up next to a human he'd just met. "Gomenasai, we don't even know you're name and already our friend is touching you inappropriately…"

_But what is good touch and bad touch when you're a bird?_

"A-anyway… What are you guys doing outside my house?" She asked.

"Sorry for the inconvience, we should be leaving now anyway." The bird whose name was supposedly 'Germany' said, looking at Hiyoko and then back at the ground. "Though… it'll be night soon enough…"

"Does that mean…?" The eagle on Hiyoko's shoulder asked. "Well bella, if this is your house can we get your permission to stay for the night?"

_Bella? What's that even mean? Oh right, my name!_

"My name isn't Bella. It's Hiyoko Tousaka."

"Ve~ how beautiful~ Well Miss Hiyoko, can we stay for one night?"

"Italia-san, how rude of you!" The green pheasant shouted. "Whether in bird-form or human-form you're as disrespectful as ever!"

_He seems to care a lot about manners… But having a bird on my shoulder isn't really a problem… It's actually kinda cute. I haven't met any eagles or pheasants at school yet so maybe having them over wouldn't be such a bad idea…_

"It'll be nightfall before we know it. It wouldn't be wise to fly blindly in the dark." The German pointed out. "It wouldn't be bad to stay for at least one night. Und we would pay you back somehow."

"Doitsu-san…"

"Ve~ I think Germany's right! It's been so long since we've seen another human face that we should at least give it a chance!"

Hiyoko thought about it for a minute, looking at the eagle on her shoulder, the bird who was possibly named after a country and the green pheasant who seemed to be obsessed with manners. She'd never had any bird-friends over before… What could go wrong doing this just once then? They seemed somewhat stressed out and Hiyoko couldn't just stay outside her 'house' as they argued over what to do.

"Um… I wouldn't mind having you over for the night, but I'm going to have to dig out a few extra bedrooms." She said to them, her head being hugged by the eagle on her shoulder.

"See, I told you! You're such a nice human! If I were a human myself I would hug you and kiss you all over!"

"Italia-kun, you're taking this way out of proportion!"

And so the real story begins…

**Been working on this chapter along for a while as well as juggling home instruction, my ill grandmother, my original stories, my friends and the research on birds I was doing exclusively for this story!**

**You may or may not have noticed but I'm going to make each of the nations their national bird. Japan is a green pheasant and Germany and Italy are golden eagles (surprisingly, a lot of nations use these birds as their national bird!)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2 of this strange little Hatoful Boyfriend x Hetalia crossover.**

**Oh right, it's not really said HOW Hiyoko lives in her cave. It's only ever said that she does in fact live in a cave and at some point in the game she wonders if she should 'dig herself a bigger bedroom'. So not only am I assuming she sleeps in the dirt/in the ground, but I'm also going to assume she lives like an actual cavewoman. Only difference between her and the Neanderthals would be that she has some modern conviences like pots, pans, a cooler maybe? But you have no electricity in a cave so I'm assuming that she has to start a fire and get water from ponds and stuff. Though I imagined her 'glorious abode' would be somewhat furnished as well so I'm gonna give her the benefit of the doubt and pamper her a bit in this fanfic. I'm gonna pimp out her cave a bit.**

**Hiyoko: Thanks whoever you are!**

**KSKC: You know, I think it's the fact I've always liked the idea of living like that that's making me pamper you a bit in this story.****So even if you do have to build fires to cook and have to hunt for your own food, I at least wanna give you a decent layout for your place.**

**Hiyoko: Much appreciated!**

**KSKC: I really hope you live ;_; *throws furniture at Hiyoko* HERE HAVE ALL THESE DRESSERS, CONTAINERS AND BLANKETS! YOU DESERVE IT SO MUCH MORE! JUST CUZ YOU'RE A CAVEWOMAN DOESN'T MEAN YOU CAN'T HAVE NICE THINGS!**

By the time night fall arrived, Hiyoko had managed to dig out each of her flighty guests some small, but warm little bedrooms. Sure Hiyoko lived in a cave, but hospitality should still be offered no matter where you lived. Although some would view her way of living as rough, she was used to doing these kinds of things all by herself. Building fires, hunting for her meals and collecting supplies and materials by hand was all in a day's work. She was strong enough to do it all on her own despite her situation. Hawk Party aside, she deserved to live a little and have fun doing it. Who said surviving couldn't be an adventure?

Her 3 guests seemed to have settled in and she was busy starting a fire to start cooking dinner. After remodeling her home and doing all her homework, she thought she'd treat herself to some udon with a side of red meat. She'd gotten somewhat lucky this particular day after finding a recently dead cow in the wild. So thankfully she didn't have to kill it and she could put it's meat and hide to use.

So with a few salvaged pots, pans and knives she started frying cow meat over an open fire.

The birds seemed rather impressed by this…

Humanity and Avian kind were at war with each other for quite a while so the fact that this one human girl was forced back into a Neanderthal style of living and still surviving was something that restored hope in this world where humans and birds could make one another go extinct at any time. In particular, she was an example of an extremely adaptable human being. To the humans that were left alive after the Avian Flu had passed she could very well be a symbol of hope and prosperity. It was no wonder the Hawk Party selected her for their plans.

The three birds couldn't help but admire her in this respect, watching her cook over a fire with no way of containing it other than a small pit she'd dug out and a cup of water incase she needed to extinguish the flame for some reason or another.

"Do you guys like red meat?" She asked them, knowing they were watching her every move.

"Sounds good to me~!" The Italian bird shouted. "By the way, do you know how to cook pasta?"

"Pasta? I don't have any on me… But I'm more of a meat person anyway. Who doesn't love red meat?" She saw that the Italian bird got somewhat sad with her response and decided to ask: "Though, if I did have any I could make pasta and meat balls. We could get rid of all the extra meat faster!"

"You do seem to have a lot of extra meat Hiyoko-san" The pheasant looked at all of the leftover meat she had from the dead cow. "What do you do with the leftovers?"

"NEVER WASTE FOOD!" Hiyoko responded happily, flipping over the meat in the pan with the knife. "I usually eat it on my own or cook a good amount of it for school. It's a little hard to preserve things without a freezer and all, but there's pickling stuff in jars and drying foods as a way to keep it fresh, or at least useable."

"Sou-des…" The pheasant looked away. "I didn't think staying with a human would be so… Enlightening… But at the same time I also feel like I've forgotten how to be human a bit…"

"Japan…" The Italian eagle walked over to the pheasant, rubbing his beak against the other bird's neck. "Don't be so sad. It might not happen now, but soon! Someday we won't feel so compelled to eat rodents and we can eat whatever we want! And we'll be able to run around like normal!"

_These birds talk an awful lot about being humans… I don't think I've ever met anyone at St. Piegonations_ _who actually WANTED to be human though._

The German eagle sighed, sitting in front of the fire and sticking it's wings out like a human would in order to keep warm. "Nevermind those two. In general, we've all been through something rather, for lack of better words 'unique'. And we're still getting used to it. So if they talk about being human, just try not to pay too much attention to it Miss Hiyoko."

She shrugged it off, continuing to cook the meat. She had enough for all of her guests, herself and her lunch for school the next day. She took the meat out of the hot pan with a knife, scooping equal servings onto plates lined heavily with paper towels to soak up the grease.

"All right, dinner time!" Hiyoko cheered in delight, lucky that there was enough meat for everyone. In addition, since meat tends to shrink when cooked, it didn't cook down too much. And reaching into a cooler full of cold water, she asked everyone what they wanted to drink.

The night turned into something truly unique and enjoyable even after the fire was put out and all fell asleep…

Though in the middle of the night, while the German and Italia slept, the Japanese guest couldn't help but watch over the human girl as she slept. The cave didn't have a door so the light of the moon lit her facial features and made her hair shine. The Japanese guest was grateful, his years of formal communication preventing him from expressing how truly grateful he felt even after just meeting her that day.

After he started to shed his wings and changed back into the form he knew for hundreds and thousands of years, he sighed. He looked at Hiyoko with the same gratitude as before… But with an added look of sadness in his eyes. He tried to speak using his human vocal cords but the single syllable he let out didn't quite match what he wanted to say, coming out strange and abnormal.

He felt as though he was forgetting more and more about who he was. He felt ashamed but knew that if this was meant to be it couldn't be helped. After all, the human population went down significantly to the point where he went days on end without seeing human faces and the few he did see were infected with Avian Flu. Thinking back to those days made him regret not being able to contribute more to the cause and he had to hold back his silent tears so not to wake anyone up.

Still despite these horrible memories full of death that always came back to haunt him in the middle of the night, he reached out to Hiyoko, stroking her cheek and smiling.

_'__I'm grateful I met such a kind human… It's been a long time since I met someone like you, Hiyoko-chan.'_

**I've been pretty busy with my original writing lately so I'm trying to write these chapters in bulk before posting. I've been busier than normal thanks to home school and the new hours system too. Makes me wanna kick America in the Florida just a little bit…**


	3. Chapter 3

**OH GOD I HAVEN'T WRITTEN SINCE 2014 ;_; December and January had me so busy I couldn't even finish the X-Mas Yaoi Bloodbath! I told myself that I'd finish it one lucky X-mas but I've been so busy!**

**I am trying to write both my new and old stories in bulk though, so you might have to travel back in the chapters to catch up to this point, but I still hope you guys enjoy my writing. I really miss you guys!**

**My original writing has been going extremely well too and though I initially imagined to make it a normal book (you know like print), it was suggested to me to turn it into a webcomic! IMAGINE ME BEING THE AMERICAN HIDEKAZ HIMARUYA! My dream… I feel closer to it even if only slightly…**

**But when I write my fanfic I take a break from drawing and writing original stuff and I goof off with you guys. So enough rambling, let's start! :D**

Hiyoko found herself waking up earlier than normal. It wasn't quite time for school yet and she didn't need to get up too early for any other reason. None the less she found her eyes opening to the sight of… another human?

"A-Ano-?!" This person had black hair and brown, maybe gold eyes. It was definitely a man judging by the voice and he seemed to speak Japanese though it sounded broken, like a person learning to speak the language for the first time. Well… She was on the border of sleepiness and alertness and her vision was blurry from slowly starting to wake up. She could only guess using her hunter-gatherer instincts.

_It's sunrise isn't it? That's when all the animals start to wake up! I have enough meat for lunch though… Got some other stuff stashed away too so I've got enough for a while. Maybe after school I can do some hunting for a snack._

She sat up, still somewhat sleepy with the same blurry vision.

"Onegai… Don't wake up yet! You can't see me!" The voice shouted, a blurry human form scurrying away on all fours like a dog looking for their owner. "Please no… Sunrise can't come so soon…"

Hiyoko however stood up and rubbed her half-closed eyes. And upon her vision being restored to normal she noticed that none of the birds she'd met the other day were in the beds and all three of them seemed to go on a midnight stroll and have yet to come back… But instead of birds, she found a single human at the mouth of the cave… And he seemed hurt?

'It's been a long time since I've seen another human…' She gulped once. But she'd only ever seen and been around other birds. Eight years before today her parents were shot and killed during the Hatoful House incident and she was witness not only to her parents' deaths but also to full on riots, birds and humans trying to kill one another and faced the possibility of history repeating itself every minute she was alive… The possibility of her dying by the hands of the Hawk Party was always looming. Unless she could love a bird and have a bird love her as well, there would be no peace between birds and human beings. If she couldn't succeed, her deepest wish and in turn Ryota's wish would never come true…

So thinking about this and remembering the wish she made so long ago, she toughened up!

"The Tosaka Family attacks first and asks questions later! Thieves will get no mercy!" She was confident enough to fight a thief with her bare fists so she grabbed the assumed thief by the black hair on his head, yanking him backward and forcing him into her bedroom in the ground. She got a closer look at him and saw that he was having difficulty breathing and has tears in his eyes. She let go of his hair but demanded an answer as to who he was none the less.

"I have to leave!"

"If you came to steal food, then today's going to be the worst day of your life!" She picked this guy up by the fabric of his yukata which seemed to be covered in what looked like pheasant feathers and plumage. She shook him by the shoulders. "There were three other birds here, you better not have killed them for a quick meal!"

"NO, NO, I'M NOT A THIEF, PLEASE! I HAVE TO LEAVE!"

This guy continued to beg, making Hiyoko believe that he wasn't really a theif… He seemed really confused and not very tough. She was reminded of Ryota, though very slightly. This guy seemed weak and fragile and judging by the look in his eyes he must've been tired. She put him down, seeing that he didn't want to cause her harm.

But the stranger looked up at her with a grateful but all the more fearful look. His white yukata covered in feathers reminded him that he didn't have that much time. "Ah… Ari… Ga-to…" He said, shaking and looking away from the teenage girl who proved that she could very easily kill him if she wished. He caught a glimpse at the sun, noticing it's ascendance and feeling as though he would die if he didn't get out of this cave immediately. Though the look of sheer despair in his eyes made caught Hiyoko's attention…

"Hey now… You're another human. How in the world did you get here?" She asked, gently touching the stranger's pale face and examining his dark circles. It was so long since she'd seen another human that even though her guests from the night before were missing and she had no idea who this guy was she couldn't help but be curious.

_It's been such a long time since I've met another human… And what's more he looks sad… I know I'm the only human at St. Piegonations so he can't be a student or staff member there… I guess I'm lucky I woke up early!_

They shared an awkward state like one in a cheaply made romantic comedy, with Hiyoko trying to get a better look at this man and said man still a nervous and anti-social wreck. But Hiyoko needed answers. NOW. And if she wanted to live, she had to romance a BIRD not a human.

"Hey, if you want me to help you I need you to talk to me!" She shouted, startling the man enough where he covered his ears and closed his eyes and screamed once himself. He was a nervous wreck… Unlike Hiyoko, who'd been living in a cave for as long as she could remember, this guy seemed unstable and must've come from a much more cushy environment if he acted like this in the wild. She decided to try one more…

She hugged the stranger as tight as possible… It'd been so long since she'd done this with anyone…

_This feels nice. I forgot what it was like to hold onto someone your own size! But he's still so shaky… He's so nervous… I almost feel sorry for beating him up… I should apologize. Though, it's been so long since I hugged someone my own size that I don't wanna let go just yet. He's so soft! \\(^o^)/_

Hugging him so tightly seemed to make him shake even more violently for the first 10 seconds but afterward the shaking subsided and he seemed to naturally melt into the embrace. He finally managed to relax and his breathing was normal again. Hiyoko succeeded in dealing with the first human she'd seen since her childhood.

"Sugoi-desu…"

She could hear him say, though muffled and in somewhat broken Japanese. The sun finally rose, telling everyone it was going to be a bright and sunny day. And the tension between the two humans finally vanished. Now for the introductions.

"My name is Hiyoko Tosaka."

She didn't want to stop hugging this guy yet, but got just enough room in between the two of them where she could see his pale, tired face. He seemed truly worn out before and after the panic attack, but especially after. He'd even managed to hug her back, even if only slightly.

"Wa-ta-shi… Nihon… Ni-hon to nishi-ma-su." More broken Japanese it seemed, making Hiyoko think that maybe he was either learning the language or he knew the language but was learning to speak. But she knew what he said.

'I am Japan.'

_I've met 4 people now who think they're countries or who have names of countries as names… Huh… I guess I must be a weirdness magnet. But he does seem pretty nice… And for all I know he could be mistranslating something. He does LOOK Japanese, so maybe he can't speak well due to illness?_

Suddenly the man (supposedly named 'Japan') backed away nervously, though he wasn't shaking or screaming anymore. He was dead quiet, looking at his hands as if he didn't know what they were for. He looked at his palms, all the veins and then holding them up to the sunlight, noticing his fingernails, each one varying degrees of clean-ness. He felt his skin, miraculously soft but rather pale in comparison to Hiyoko.

And after watching this Hiyoko thought that something must be wrong with this guy and knew for a fact she couldn't let the Hawk Party catch wind of this… So cleaning her bed a bit and laying down an extra layer of warm blankets, she grabbed the man's wrist, pointing to the bed and saying in a slow and calm tone of voice: "You can sleep here."

The man looked at her in a confused manner but it was a look of gratitude none the less. He let himself be guided by the teenage girl to what was essentially a hole in the ground, the bottom layered with blankets and the sides covered with what looked like tiles made of softened broken glass and other soft ceramics and rocks glued together with a make-shift concrete. He had to admit that for a cave, this girl had a pretty nice set-up and was trying to make it as homely as possible. He ended up being tucked in like a small child with a cold that was told to stay home from school. But he was also covered in leaves and his face was hidden with a canopy.

"If you're a human like me, I wouldn't want the Hawk Party to get you. I'm not even sure if another human should even be here with me…" She sighed, looking at the sun and sitting outside, absorbing it's rays. "First I meet all those birds in school, then I come across three birds on the way home that want to be human and now I've met you!"

The man let out a weak laugh.

"It is pretty funny huh? I don't even know how you got here though… But you seem too weak to say. Well at least I know you're not a thief now! But that also means that if you're going to stay here, the food supply will deplete twice as fast. I hope you know how to hunt."

Knowing she had to go to school she got her uniform and loafers ready in one corner and her lunch in another. Opening the cooler full of cold water, she took out a juice box to start the new day. And just to be safe, she made sure to take a juice box out for this new guy as well, leaving it close to him should he need a drink. Though for now, she stuck to enjoying the sun's rays and the thrill of a new encounter with another human being…

**First 3 chapters done! This is what I've got for you guys so far, I hope you enjoy this story and I'm gonna see how this writing in bulk thing goes… Maybe it'll work for you, maybe it won't. But until I'm a little freer or can manage my time between so many activities better, it'll work for me. And I seem to get these bursts of inspiration in a weird pattern anyway, so writing in bulk might help me concentrate on one thing at a time. Not sure, I'll have to see how this works out. In addition this is the first new story I've written for 2015! The rest I have to work on updating! Might even re-write a few stories now that my writing's improved so much. But that I'll leave for another day… Hope you have a nice day! **

**P.S. Japan x Hiyoko FTW!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Haven't worked on this one in a while, but due to a tragic loss in my family recently I thought I'd give this one another shot… It might be best if I write stuff that's more relaxed for a while.**

**Hatoful Nation**

Having left to go to school, Hiyoko wondered how her strange new acquaintance at home was doing, should he still be there at all. She daydreamed through math class, thinking about this new human she hugged and nearly killed. Not only that, but the birds from the night before even, the two golden eagles and the green pheasant went missing. While there were no signs at all of the two eagles, the man she met spoke Japanese, though a bit broken. He was frail and extremely nervous but that made him all the more interesting. She wondered where he came from, looking out of the window from where she sat in her classroom.

When class was dismissed and it was time to go to lunch, she walked out of the classroom completely dazed.

_The man might still be at home… I don't even know if he has anywhere else to go. Not to mention that he might not be able to stand up for himself in the wild. I wonder if he's immune to H5N1 as well… More importantly, would keeping him at my house get me killed?_

She shook her head, trying to get that thought out of her mind. Her goal was to woo a bird, not a human. The goal of Hiyoko attending St. Piegonations in general was to see if humans and birds could peacefully integrate. What better way than interspecies romance? Love was supposedly the most powerful universal force in the world… Supposedly… Though why would so many stories, legends and battles be fought if not for love? Once again Hiyoko tried to get her head out of the clouds. It had been a long time since humans and birds were at war. And currently she was humanity's only hope.

"Hiyoko? Are you ok?"

She felt Ryouta tap on her shoulder with his wing. "Oh, Ryouta!"

"Are you alright? You look pale… It's not like you to waste lunchtime standing out in the hallway…" The rock dove pointed out.

"Yeah… I was just thinking really hard about something. Mostly about hunting. Thought about what I should eat for dinner tonight." Not a complete lie, as she was also wondering how her mysterious stranger back at home was surviving or if he was eating anything. She wondered if anything she hunted would be enough for two humans to eat, as she mostly hunted and bought food for herself.

"If you want, I can cook for you."

"I'll gladly take that offer when starvation loo- Wait a minute…" Free food from Ryouta… She'd known Ryouta since they were kids and help him get back in his nest when he fell out. He'd always been weak so they'd always been helping each other. He was her best friend. He might be able to keep a secret as well. Though since he knew nothing about the Hawk Party or the reason for Hiyoko being there it was risky. She wouldn't want to get him killed, what with him having to take care of his mom and all. Still, she'd known Ryouta far longer than this new human and could easily trust him. "On second thought… Something light and vegetarian might go well with meat!"

At the thought of Hiyoko eating something he made Ryouta blushed a bit, though too lightly for the random passerby to notice or poke fun at. He smiled. "If anything, why don't we go eat on the roof? I can let you try some of my lunch if you want. See if you like it."

The two went up to the roof and opened up their bento boxes.

Ryouta's was full of veggies and very light food in general. Some white rice, carefully cooked corn, some salad with lettuce, parsley, tomatoes and a few more herbs Hiyoko didn't recognize (and the only reason she knew what parsley was is due to the fact it can also be used as a garnish for fancy steak dishes). His lunch was very… Colorful… But a hunter-gatherer like Hiyoko couldn't live without her red meat and udon.

And in full contrast to Ryouta's lunch, Hiyoko's bento box was packed with leftover meat preserved with numerous spices and flattened into thin steaks. No vegetables, no green garnish, no sauce… Just pure meat she got from the wild herself.

"I guess you really are the hunter type…" Ryouta gulped somewhat nervously. "Is meat the only thing you know how to prepare?"

"Don't have much at my place except a fire, a cooler, a couple pans and other cook wear. No electricity in caves…"

Ryouta looked down at his lunch, wondering how Hiyoko could survive living without much modern conveniences. "You know… Once mom gets better, maybe you can stay over. We certainly wouldn't mind having you over. Besides, living in a cave must get lonely."

"I guess, though I've gotten used to it… It's just how I've been living so I don't really know how else to live. Once you get used to something I guess…" Hiyoko grabbed one of her steaks and started chomping away. "But back to the topic… Maybe you can teach me how to cook?"

Ryouta scooped some corn and salad from his bento box and put it next to Hiyoko's steaks. "See how you like it."

Eating raw vegetables was a new challenge for Hiyoko… Though they were supposedly nutricious they looked bland. She imagined them tasting like grass, even if there were some tomatoes among the greenery. But Ryouta was her friend so she could at least trust that he wasn't trying to kill her with his cooking. With her bare hands she took one of the lettuce leaves, putting it to her lips and biting off a microscopic piece…

"HOW CAN YOU EAT THIS GRASS?!" Hiyoko shouted in disgust, taking a large bite out of her steak to wash the grass flavor out of her mouth.

"Vegetables are plants after all… Why not try wrapping the vegetables in the steak and eating it like that?"

_Hiding the gross part and eating it with the good part? That might work… I think… So long as the grass flavor doesn't overpower my wonderful meat!_

So taking Ryouta's advice, she layered some lettuce leaves on top of another steak that hadn't been bitten into yet and rolled it up. Looking at this strange new food with disgust at first, she reminded herself that this was for Ryouta! She took a bite out of it and her taste buds were met with a wonderful meaty flavor with some grass undertones.

_Well… At least the grass is only in the undertones…_

"It tastes okay, but I'll always be a meat person." Hiyoko smiled. "Though you're a vegetable person, you know any herbs or vegetables that might compliment a meat dish better or perhaps even preserve the meat more than what I'm using now?"

"Depends on what spices you're using now…"

"Powdered onion, powdered garlic… Can't keep many vegetables in a cave what without electricity and all… Sazzon, adobo and the classic salt and pepper work too." Hiyoko explained. "I can really only work with dry and powdered spices."

"Well if you can only store dry indregients in your house, you can always use dried parsley, dried rosemary, basil, candied ginger. The first three can be used for nearly any kind of meat, but I'm not sure what kind of meat candied ginger would go well with… I usually use that for desserts."

At the sound of dessert, Hiyoko's interest was aroused further.

_He must've studied a lot of cooking techniques what his mom and all… He's such a smart and mysterious bird! I think I can trust him with knowing I have a human hidden at my place… Maybe we can all be friends and all three of us can eat lunch together!_

They ate their lunch peacefully, discussing cooking techniques of all kind and exchanging recipes and other food-related stories…

**Meanwhile in another place at the same time…**

The Japanese man still felt fatigued, not having moved since Hiyoko left to go to school and lying down alone in the so-called 'bedroom'. The juice box Hiyoko left him was right next to his face, but he could barely even twitch his fingertips let alone reach out for it. His mouth was dry, lips chap, aching of thirst, yearning for sustenance and flavor of any kind. When he tried thinking about what he was told before she left for school, she mentioned something about hunting…

From their exchange the day before, she did mention being a hunter/gatherer but she was used to living alone, presumably from childhood. He thought about the Avian Flu and how it wiped out most of the human population on the planet, his kind being the only few to remain human up until the population was low enough and where birds almost outnumbered the humans… That's when things started to change…

The changes happened gradually. Loss of mobility, complex motor skills, memories, knowledge, the ability to speak… Then waking up one day to discover he'd turned into a bird… Most notably the bird of his nation: a green pheasant. He had re-learned everything he needed to know in order to continue living even if in a different form… The same for all of his friends, who had all turned into birds of their respective nations.

They had all retained their statuses as nations however, they were all still immortal, healing factor still in-tact despite the changes in their physical form. All still held meetings, now with flighty leaders, heads of states, presidents, most of them now birds instead of the humans they'd been so used to. They had adapted to something so strange and bizarre that it could only ever exist in fiction, but this was their reality since the Avian Flu wiped out everything.

On rare occasion though, perhaps in some cruel twist of fate, he and the others would retain their human forms but only at night. When this occurred, he would try returning to his old way of life –being a human- and returning to his old routine. However he struggled to do so, usually ending up crippled and weak as he was now. As for the others, their results varied, though Germany and Italy seemed to have more luck than he did as they were able to walk and speak much more normally as they did in the past. When one of them was weak, they would help each other walk by piggy-backing on eachother's backs or leaning on eachother's shoulders. It was sweet…

Though when the thought about his friends came to mind, he wondered where they ended up. Perhaps they turned human as well and went for a moonlit stroll… Or perhaps they were doing something only two people could do… The both of them sneaking off into the night wasn't much of a surprise for the Japanese man though. It was more the fact they had not returned and left no signs of leaving or when they might return. He thought that the possibility of them completely abandoning him was impossible as they'd been friends for so long, but the fact they hadn't come back was still suspicious… He wondered if he were the only one who were human in the daylight hours, past sunrise when they were forced back into human form.

Thinking of his dear friends now however was futile, as his stomach growled furiously, begging for substance. Now an immortal cannot starve to death, but instead would get stomach cramps… First stomach cramps, as time went on the severity of the pain would increase. Second would be the severe dryness of the skin and deterioration of bones due to the lack of nutrients they were receiving. Even immortal beings had to eat… Only like a normal human they would not die due to not eating or drinking, they'd end up an eternally deteriorating and cripples shell of a human being until they got an opportunity to eat again.

Now wasn't the time to lie down and starve. Turning his head to the right and spotting the juice box Hiyoko left him. Stomach growling even louder, he bit into his lower lip and forced himself to turn over onto the right side, left hand smacking into the hard, compact dirt hard enough to hear an audible crack even though he could not feel pain…

'Better not be broken…' Frustrated, helpless and desperate he still forced his left arm to move, even if his hand was possibly broken from hitting the 'walls' of this Hiyoko's 'bedroom' he was put up (or down?) in. His hand touched the box and forced the limb to move it closer to his mouth. Biting into a corner of the box, he managed to rip a decent sized hole to drink from. The next step was either sitting up and drinking or to remain lying down and figure out a way to move the box so nothing spilled onto the bed sheets.

He decided to pursue the latter. His left hand working properly again, able to move all 5 fingers and the wrist to his advantage, he carefully ripped off the plastic straw from the side of the box, ripping the plastic wrapper with his teeth and putting the straw into the hole he made himself. A small victory to most, but a large victory to any severely disabled or weaken persons. Though it was his sense of pride that still made him question why he was so happy over putting a straw inside a juice box which he almost ripped in half with his teeth, it was a victory nonetheless. He drunk the fruit juice down with a strange sense of accomplishment, as if doing this small task could gurentee that he would be able to walk and speak normally again or perhaps even go hunting for Kobe beef or ox in the wild, fight with a katana or play Mario games again… If Mario games were even made anymore…

The juice ran out, leaving him with no more food to get rid of this hunger. He might've even eaten or taken a bite out of Hiyoko if she were with him… Even the thought of food in this starvation was distorting his view of things, imagining Hiyoko as a piece of meat for example!* But all he could do was wait for her return…

**Chapter done, I shall write another one and post it at the same time as this one!**

***A short note for once: We've never seen what Hiyoko looks like in the game, the comic or anything else. In the comic, she's represented by a piece of meat that appears next to her speech bubbles, but we never see her face.****Even during Shuu's ending we never get a hint of what she looks like. Her design is pretty much up to the player in that respect and as such, everyone has their own depiction of Hiyoko. As such, I'll try avoiding any mention of her physical appearance here as my version of Hiyoko may not match yours. Or perhaps you want to imagine yourself as Hiyoko, which I'm ok with!**

**As for my idea of what Hiyoko looks like, I imagined her having short blonde hair and bright gold eyes with fair skin. Hiyoko means 'chick' after all so I think it would fit. So maybe as far as this crossover goes, if she were a bird, maybe she'd look like Gilbird?**


	5. Chapter 5

**Writing in bulk, so depending on when this is posted, you may have to do a bit of chapter time-travel.**

**Letsa go!**

**Hatoful Nation**

On the way home from school and into the woods, Hiyoko was lucky enough to find a few blueberry bushes full of fruit. Though with no basket to pick them, she stuffed a handful of the fruits into her jacket pockets. Fruits could be turned into juices, sauces and jams after all. Best when used as quickly as possible for all kinds of purposes. Only available from spring through autumn so best if collected whenever the opportunity arises. Blueberries in each of her jacket pockets and carrying her school bag, she went home to discover the man on her doorstep, trying to crawl out of the house but failing miserably, barely having moved 3 feet from the mouth of the cave.

_I should've left him more than just a juice box…_

Rushing to him with berries falling out of her pockets, she picked him up and dragged him back inside her home, hearing him curse and groan in a weak but still annoyed tone of voice.

"Hiyoko no baka…" He managed to let out more audibly though perhaps unintentionally given his shy and composed appearance. Instead his stomach spoke louder than his words and he was propped up against the bedroom wall to sit close to a 90 degree angle as Hiyoko forced blueberries into his mouth to shut him and his stomach up.

_Yeah… Should've left him more than a juice box. But I don't know what he likes to eat anyway! I should go hunting as soon as he's somewhat stable._

"I'm sorry for leaving you alone for so long…" She did feel guilty that he had to drag himself little under 2 feet away from the house to attempt to find food even though she wanted to scold him for doing something so risky and stupid as well. Then again, her keeping him at her home was risky in and of itself… But would he even understand the danger if she explained everything to him?

The poor man swallowed the fruit shoved into his mouth and sighed. "Hiyo…"

"You need something?"

_He's sounding somewhat better already… He even said my name twice just now! I wonder if he has a home to return to elsewhere though… I might not be able to keep him for much longer…_

He closed his eyes, but said nothing. She could hear him breathing but he simply said no words. She knew he couldn't have choked on the berries she gave him but perhaps he was tired from trying to get out of the house and barely making it out of the 'front yard'. But being a cavewoman was a way of life she couldn't avoid or change even if a stranger came into the picture out of nowhere.

"Hey, you can't fall asleep on me now! I have to go hunting if we want to eat tonight! Are you listening?!" She thought that he and Mr. Nanaki must've been related in some way. She put her school bag next to the indoor fire pit, long cooled off from the previous night's events. She then hurled the man up, putting him over her shoulders like a fluffy and heavy futon. "Well, it looks like I'll have to take you with me! I can't trust you here all by your lonesome, you'll kill yourself!"

The man seemed to object at first, demanding he be put down in broken Japanese but seeing that Hiyoko was persistent, he ceased complaining and let her drag him out of the mouth of the cave. She let him lie down flat on his back in the grass while she prepared to go on a small hunting tip. She took the necessities: a homemade spear, a cheap store-bought fishing rod and some cheap bait, a bucket, a cloth shopping bag stuffed with newspapers and (hopefully) just this once, a large camouflage sheet to wrap up the man and carry him around in.

Dropping her gear on the ground, she laid out the sheet close to his tired body and rolled him onto the sheet before wrapping him up like a cabbage roll. She lifted him up, putting him on her shoulder once again and carried him and her hunting supplies like an Amazonian warrior princess and went off into the wood and stopping once she reached a medium-sized pond with plenty of fish ready to be caught.

Putting her tools down by the water first, she took the man wrapped in a sheet and carefully laid him under some brambles and bushes so any suspicious or nosey birds flying past wouldn't be able to see him as easily. She unrolled the sheet slightly, just to give him some extra breathing room.

His face however, was obviously one of discomfort and disbelief at what he was currently going through.

Hiyoko was unable to read the atmosphere properly on this occasion however and simply ran her fingers through his black hair, explaining that she was going to go fishing if they wanted to eat a nice hot meal. She told him that if he were stronger, she'd ask him to build a fire, but she was used to doing things by her lonesome.

He watched her work from under the brambles, stomach still speaking for him. Her methods were somewhat unorthodox but she seemed to be catching fish after fish with no one helping her at all. She caught edible fish each time. Those of considerable size were stabbed with a spearhead, the smaller ones were captured using a hook or even caught by hand and dumped into the bucket. He watched, but watched in amazement at her adaptability as well as in envy of her free movement.

He did not know why it was he hadn't turned back into a bird when the sun arose this particular morning, but the paranoia of not knowing when he'd turn back into one and the pure anger that came from not being able to use his body as he was able to prior to his transformation made him envy the schoolgirl even more. His language was still spoken in a hoarse tone of voice and sometimes he was barely understood. His body ached and even something as small as reaching for a juice box placed next to your head while you slept was an accomplishment. Being able to speak a clear and audible sentence was a goal. Being able to find out where Germany and Italy were would've been a miracle.

But the thought of his friends made him even more upset than the fact he was restricted to being a human cabbage roll and being forced to hide while a high school cavewoman was the only one to watch and assist you to do something so simple as helping you eat. Feeling the tears fill his eyes, his vision blurry and the faint taste of salt water on his lips made him all the more envious.

'Daikirai… Jinsei DAIKIRAI!' He thought, laughing madly in the back of his mind. 'Yes… I've lived for so long and only now am I bridled with this disability! Was being cursed to be a bird not enough? And though I am human once more I can't even move? Let alone be left in the dark as to whether I'll go back to being a bird! I've lived so long… But only now, even after witnessing and having to partake in so many wars and occupations can I say that I hate my life… Daikirai desu!'

He was interrupted however, as the cavewoman looked at him with concern.

He looked away in a poor attempt to preserve his pride that had long been shattered. But rather than being scolded or being asked what was wrong the girl lay down next to him and put an arm around him, despite him already being wrapped in a thick sheet.

She said no words this time, just held him as closely as possible and snuggled him innocently. He refused to look at her despite the gesture however, as of this moment he couldn't tell if he were supposed to feel more envy or feel comforted by her actions. He tried to let out a sound but only more garbled words came out and he bit into his lip hard enough to draw blood on one side.

"Hey… You must've cut yourself… I'll clean it up for you." Hiyoko wiped the blood off the side of his lip with her thumb but angrily he bit her finger once as well. She didn't react harshly, merely squeezing is nose as payback. "Next time you misbehave, I won't save you… I don't think I'll be able to…"

He began to drift in and out of a state of drowsiness after that, only recalling the sensation of being picked up again and being carried back to the cave. He knew she lit a fire because it was warm and he could see her cooking the fish she caught in his hazy vision but he didn't bother to notice any of the details. Even the familiar smell of raw fish and sea salt didn't bring him comfort or happiness. He could merely observe. Observe… And envy…

Hiyoko looked at the man and his now soulless-looking eyes. They seemed to stare at the fire and reflect on something sad while gazing into the flames, even with the smell of dinner in the air. Putting down the frying pan the perfectly cooked bass was in, she began chopping up a small piece with a knife and fork, urging the man to eat.

_He's acting weird all over again…_

She let the lava-hot bass touch his lips for a moment to see if she could get some reaction. Luckily he jumped at the sensation, proving he was alive. Just moody…

"Good, you're awake so you can eat. I made two so you can eat the entire fish if you want. Unfortunately fish smells terrible when you bring it to school the next day… So I just made some for us for tonight. It's best if you try getting your strength back."

He didn't seem to respond aside from trying to hide his face in the sheets.

"Are you afraid? Are you afraid of… me?"

Only a small groan in response.

"Please say something…"

"Hiyo… Chan…"

Anticipation grew for a moment, wondering what he'd say next, if he COULD say anything to continue the conversation. She put the fork down and propped him up against a wall before letting him lean on her shoulder to support his head and prevent him from slipping and hurting himself.

"Talk to me."

"Tas… Sukete…"

_'__Help me', he's asking me to help him! Maybe he's afraid of choking on his food? Maybe he needs it chewed up for hi-THAT'S IT!_

Thinking about how mother birds fed their young she got the brilliant (and by human standards: disgusting) idea of partially eating his food for him and feeding it to him that way. Though because he had already proved himself to be a weak and nervous wreck, she didn't want to freak him out by kissing him by surprise simply to feed him like a bird… Instead taking a fingerprint sized piece of fish, grabbing the man's head from behind and putting the food near his mouth.

Though this current position made her look like a frustrated dog owner trying to force their dog to take their medication, she knew it would keep him somewhat stable and upright.

"Ok… I'm holding you steady… Open up."

After hearing him sigh he opened his mouth slightly as she slipped the food in, watching him chew it slowly afterward and finally swallowing after a minute.

"That's good. You ate something I cooked! I'm really happy." Hiyoko repeated the cycle a few times over until the man put his hand on her lap, as if to tell her to stop because he couldn't say so vocally. Interpreting the action as such she held him close. "Well, you ate a good amount of food, so I'm not complaining. Um… Your name…"

He looked at her, nodding once and replying "Nihon-desu."

"Y-yeah… Japan, huh?"

"Hai."

_I guess that'll just have to work… He might not listen otherwise. But I guess it's a name that fits him alright. No use giving him a new one._

"Japan… So you know I'm Hiyoko Tosaka and now I can call you Japan…"

He nodded again.

"I guess since you are the way you are I've got no choice but to keep you here until you get better. I'm tough though, so I can lift you up and take you out hunting with me since I can't leave you alone. But you still need to hide. I can't skip school for no reason either so I'll have to leave during the day and come back when school is over." Saying these words out loud she felt like she was taking care of a pet rather than watching another human being who happened to have a disability. She felt bad for him, imagining what Ryouta would do if in her shoes because he had to take care of his sick mother. Viewing it from that angle she couldn't worry about the Hawk Party because she knew Ryouta had to live with doing this for much longer.

She laid him down, layering several sheets on top of him and adjusting a pillow under his head so he'd be at a 45 degree angle. She wondered if Ryouta had to do this sort of work, tucking a grown person (or fowl) in, having to feed them small morsels of food by hand, having to carry them or move them everywhere without hurting them, having to interpret their actions because they couldn't vocalize their wants and needs. She considered calling him to ask him for some advice, but thought about the danger she might put him in if the Hawk Party caught them both taking care of a human.

However, if the Hawk Party were already watching her play caretaker to this 'Japan' fellow, wouldn't they already be suspicious or planning something big against her? She could only wonder and play beautiful innocence, lying in wait and living her life until they decided to act on their own time.

In the end, she decided against calling Ryouta and instead focused on her homework…

**Chapter done!**

**This chapter hit me a little hard when writing it, as I've had to take care of my late grandmother an toward the end of her life, she was disabled to the point where we had to do almost everything for her. I took it a lot better than I initially thought. It's better than her living in pain. My birthday on June 15****th****was a little lonely without her this year, but I'm surviving day by day. I know she's with me in a way even if I can't always see it. And I was raised with her guidance to pass on to the next generation!**


End file.
